All But One Aviation-Related Areas Of Concern Rated
"Unacceptable"
Six near runway collisions at San
Francisco, New York, Ft. Lauderdale and other airports were
narrowly averted in just the last six months... leading the NTSB to
highlight the issue of runway safety as among its most important
issue areas to be addressed by the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA).
At a public meeting Thursday, the NTSB reviewed its "Most
Wanted List" of safety improvements -- a list established in 1990
that focuses attention on critical changes needed by federal
agencies to reduce accidents and save lives.
Half of the 44 safety recommendations in the 15 federal issue
areas on the Most Wanted List were issued to the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), with other recommendations issued to the
National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) and the US
Coast Guard. The rest were geared towards various ground transport
agencies.
Areas of concern by the NTSB shared by both aviation and ground
transport included measures to prevent vehicle collisions, and
reducing human fatigue. The NTSB added three safety recommendations
on air traffic controller fatigue to the existing aviation issue
area that addresses human fatigue. The Board is asking the FAA to
develop a program to educate controllers and those who schedule
them about the causes, effects and safety implications of
fatigue.
The Board also asked the FAA to work in conjunction with
National Air Traffic Controllers Union (NATCA) in revising
work-scheduling policies to reduce the incidence of fatigue on the
job. "Since air traffic controllers play such a crucial role in the
safety of our air transportation system, we must ensure that the
performance of these professionals is not compromised by something
as preventable as human fatigue," said NTSB Chairman Mark
Rosenker.
Other aviation-related areas of concern included runway safety,
reducing the potential for explosions caused by fuel/air vapors,
and airframe icing.
In addition to pinpointing important safety issues, the Most
Wanted List also rates agencies by the timeliness with which they
act to implement the recommendations. The Board rates the FAA's
responses thus far to runway incursions and excursions; aircraft
icing; equipping aircraft with updated flight data recorders;
requiring cockpit resource management (CRM) training for Part 121
and 135 flight crews; and combating pilot and controller fatigue as
"Unacceptable."
The lone "Acceptable" rating for an aviation-related matter
comes on the industry's response to preclude the operation of
transport-category airplanes with flammable fuel/air vapors in the
fuel tank on all aircraft -- though the Board notes progress is
moving slowly.
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